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Upstate Forever, Clemson University, and Lake Conestee Nature Park have received a grant from The Cornell Lab and Land Trust Alliance's Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative to study and determine best management practices to restore and improve grassland bird habitats.
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Andrea Cooper, Executive Director of Upstate Forever, joins other leaders selected from across the Upstate and surrounding area to participate in the Riley Institute at Furman’s 28th class of Diversity Leaders Initiative.
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Local conservation group Upstate Forever, who has operated Greenville B-cycle since March 2013, will give up the reins as program operator later this year. The City of Greenville has committed to taking over the local bike-share program.
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The Land Trust Alliance’s land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. In 2008, Upstate Forever became the first land trust organization in South Carolina to receive national accreditation. Upstate Forever is pleased to announce it is now applying for renewal of accreditation.
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Jones Gap State Park has become approximately 25 percent larger following a donation of 955 acres to the SC Department of Parks, Recreations & Tourism from The Nature Conservancy. The property, known as Gap Creek, is protected in perpetuity by a conservation easement held by Upstate Forever.
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A 56-acre property in Travelers Rest once slated for subdivision development has been acquired by the SC DNR Heritage Trust and added to the adjacent Blackwell Heritage Preserve. Upstate Forever and other partners opposed the development, called Bluestone Ridge, because it would have seriously threatened the Heritage Preserve and the survival of the bunched arrowhead, an extremely rare plant only found in two counties: Hendersonville, NC and Greenville, SC.
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Many thanks to Mark Taylor for serving as Upstate Forever’s Board Chair for the past two years. Mark is the president of SynTerra and has been involved with Upstate Forever since it was formed in 1998. Along with Brad Wyche, Mark has also co-chaired the Crossroads Campaign Steering Committee for the past year, and has been integral to its success. He will remain on the board but has passed the reins to our new chair, Joe Lesesne.
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